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Great Falls Connection ❖ November 25 - December 1, 2015 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

Artists on the GreenTo Host Open House

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Artists on the GreenTo Host Open House

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November 25 - December 1, 2015

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Adrienne Kralick demon-strates portrait paintingtechnique of John SingerSargent in a recent workshop.The twelve artists of Artistson the Green have been busycreating collectible pieces ofart for the upcoming GreatFalls Holiday Fest, Saturday,Dec. 5 and Sunday, Dec. 6.

Great FallsGreat Falls

2 ❖ Great Falls Connection ❖ November 25 - December 1, 2015 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com


NewsGreat Falls Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic

703-778-9414 or [email protected]

By Kristin Clark Taylor

For The Connection

It began about twenty years ago witha single question. Award-winningauthor Laura Elliott says the idea forher newest novel was first ignited

when her daughter Megan, then a small girl,walked into the room one morning andasked her mother, “Did you know that theonly Leonardo in all of the Americas is righthere in Washington, D.C.?”

What came next was not a question butan urgent demand; a daughterly directive:“We’ve got to go see it. Today.”

Elliott not only listened that morning, butshe obeyed, and a few hours later theyfound themselves standing in the NationalGallery of Art in Washington, D.C., totallytransfixed by the real-life vision in front ofthem: the first portrait ever painted byLeonardo DaVinci. Both mother and daugh-ter were mesmerized.

They knew that they were gazing uponthe only DaVinci portrait to hang in a U.S.museum, and it took their breath away. Theportrait itself depicts the young and beau-tiful Ginevra de’ Benci, the wealthy, wittydaughter of a prominent Florence familywho posed for DaVinci in his early yearsand who served as the masterful artist’s firstmuse.

FLASH FORWARD about twenty years, totoday, as mother and daughter stand againin the National Gallery of Art – but this time,to discuss and celebrate the publication ofElliott’s newest novel, “DaVinci’s Tiger,” alush, historical romance which centers upon

It was DaVinci’s portrait of Ginevra, Elliottexplains, which broke new ground and setthe art world on its ear by depicting awoman looking straight ahead, her gazedirect, wearing a relatively unadorned gownand a solid facial expression – a bold anddeliberate decision that firmly establishedthe masterful painter as a force of artistichonesty and change.

But this beautiful portrait also broke othernew ground: In those times, women werelooked upon as talentless, voiceless, deli-cately domestic creatures, so submissivethat they could not even pose for a portraitwithout assuming an indirect, silhouettedposition.

That de’ Benci posed so boldly was onething. But that she was also a high-spirited,free-thinking, highly talented poet wassomething else altogether.

Elliott describes how the beautiful de’Benci, trapped in an arranged marriage andforced to limit her creativity to domesticduties, fell in love with the artist as hepainted her portrait. And although the mu-tual admiration ultimately ended in heart-break, de ‘Benci’s story is inspirational be-cause it shows how she defied conventionduring the Renaissance.

THE ACCOLADES for “DaVinci’s Tiger”are already flowing in fast and strong:

Elizabeth Wren, New York Times best-sell-ing author of “Code Name Verity,” describesthe new novel as, “an exquisitely detailedstory of the passionate relationship betweenartist and muse. Beautifully painted.”

Esther Eacho, an educator and avidreader, said “Laura’s skill at bringing thesubject to life is remarkable. Not only willthe reader learn about DaVinci, but they willbetter understand 15th-century life from ayoung woman’s point of view.”

Community is important to Elliott. She

Great Falls Author Paints a Powerful PortraitLaura Elliott launchesher newest novel,‘DaVinci’s Tiger.’

Photo by Mary Noble Ours

Laura Elliott

this singular, seminal portrait and tells thestory of the intimate, unfolding relationshipbetween the master and his muse.

Using the National Gallery as the sym-bolic backdrop to launch her exciting newnovel, Elliott, a long-time resident of GreatFalls, recently stood before a standing-room-only audience in the famed hall todiscuss her work. Her daughter Megan, nowa 26-year-old theater artist, served as re-searcher for the book and also fielded ques-tions from the audience at the end of theevent.

Clearly, Elliott has come full circle — fromthat first moment when she laid eyes on theportrait a few decades ago, to today, as thebest-selling author of a book on the samesubject. And it was not just the powerfulportrait that pulled her in – it was the story

behind the portrait.It still is.In the novel, much of it based on real-life

events from that rich period, Elliott offersup a vivid backdrop of Renaissance Flo-rence, complete with passion, exquisite art,elaborate feasts, jousting, and finally, a lovethat defies categorization.

Painstakingly researched (Elliott traveledto Florence twice and spent years poringover almost every last detail of Ginevra de’Benci’s life), the New York Times best-sell-ing author weaves a story about thisground-breaking portrait and all of the furyand passion that surrounded it.

“The portrait itself was revolutionary,” shesays in a quiet voice filled with respect andawe, “because before this, women were al-ways depicted by artists as bejeweled, ex-quisite objects, always gazing out at noth-ing, staring off vacantly into space.” See Power, Page 6

The twelve artists of Artists onthe Green have been busy creat-ing beautiful and collectiblepieces of art for the upcomingGreat Falls Holiday Fest, Satur-day, Dec. 5 and Sunday, Dec. 6.Artists on the Green, located at776B Walker Road in Great Falls,is known for offering a uniqueblend of original art and that justright creative collectible. And, tomake the holidays a littlebrighter, each artist is offeringdiscounts of up to 20 percent offtheir original creations. Openboth days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,the studio will have a festiveOpen House with food and bev-

erages from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sun-day, Dec. 6. Additionally, artistswill be demonstrating their ap-proach to creating their art allweekend. AOTG is convenientlylocated across from the Farmer’sMarket on Saturday morning andis a short walk to the Christmastree lighting ceremony at 4:30p.m. on Sunday.

Artists on the Green toHost Open House

Kurt Schwarzdemonstratesstill lifepainting inweekly class.

Photo by Gail Péan


News

The Great FallsHoliday Fest,to be held Saturday, Dec. 5

and Sunday, Dec. 6, willoffer shopping, art, food,lights and Saint Nicholas,too!

Both days, 10 a.m.–5p.m. Twenty-three GreatFalls Studios member art-ists at the Grange and OldSchoolhouse, 9818Georgetown Pike, will dis-play something for SecretSantas and serious collec-tors. Original art, prints,photography, fabric arts,pottery, sculpture, woodcarvings, holiday gifts,note cards and more.

Both days, noon–4 p.m.Santa will be at the OldSchoolhouse posing for pictures with girls and boysand local authors will be storytelling there, too.Gather for live music and dance, festive food anddrink at the Grange, make an ornament at the Artsof Great Falls School, delight in art demonstrationsat the Artists’ Atelier and Artists on the Green.

Wraps up Sunday, 4:30–6:30 p.m. with the 25thAnnual Celebration of Lights. Hot cider and cocoa tosip by the blazing Yule log and community choral

groups singing seasonal music. A petting zoo, ponyrides and a live nativity scene. Santa and Mrs. Clausare scheduled to arrive by antique fire truck to beginthe cheer when the own Christmas tree is lit!

Family friendly and free.Brought to you by Great Falls Studios, the Fairfax

County Park Authority, Celebrate Great Falls and theArts of Great Falls.

For more information visit www.GreatFallsStudios.com.

Great Falls to Host Holiday Fest

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Langley HighOrchestra toPerform BritishClassics, HoldSilent Auction

The Langley High School Or-chestra presents a concert of Brit-ish Classics on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at7 p.m. Due to the renovation of theLangley HS Auditorium, the con-cert will be held at South Lakes HS,11400 South Lakes Drive, Reston.The concert is free, and the publicis invited to hear wonderful stringorchestra music and participate inthe Silent Auction.

“British composers have writtensome of the best music in the worldfor string orchestra,” said Dr. ScottMcCormick, director of Orchestraat Langley HS. The four orchestraswill perform music by GustavHolst, John Rutter, Peter Warlock,Ernest Bloch, Ralph Vaughan Will-iams, Henry Purcell, George F.Handel and Percy Fletcher. Guid-ance counselor Julie McGreevy willbe contributing her refined accentand the Queen’s finest English inher role as master of ceremonies.

Viewing and bidding for the SilentAuction will begin at 6:15 p.m. inthe lobby. The silent auction closesat the end of intermission. Visitlangleyorchestra2015.eflea.ca fordetails of the items available, and tobid online prior to the concert. Giftcertificates are available for the fol-lowing restaurants: Amoo’s House ofKabob, Café Tatti, Café Oggi, ChinaExpress, Chop-n-Chicken, El Tio’s TexMex Grilll, Famous Dave’s, FoundingFarmers, J. Gilbert’s, L’Auberge ChezFrancois, Listrani’s, Maggiano’s LittleItaly, Mookie’s BBQ, PaSa Thai, TheOld Brogue, The Greek Taverna, Sea-sons 52, Social Restaurant, Star NutGourmet, Triny Tex Grill, and forWhole Foods. Services and productsavailable include items from: Art andSewing Cleaner, Astoria Laser Clinicand Med Spa, Bliss Spa and Salon,Dr. Edward Nelson DMD PediatricDentistry, Chain Bridge Cellars,Mesmeralda’s, Gathered Stem,Lamps Unlimited, Jeff Lubin FinePortrait Studio, Lilly Pulitzer,Magellan Tutoring, Music Masters,Name Droppers, Newseum, Old Do-minion Animal Health Ceter,Potomac Vegetable Farms, Tiffanyand Company, Washington Nation-als, Salona Jewelers, Smith’s of Ber-muda, The Preppy Pink Pony, TheKellogg Collection, and VineyardVines. Additional items include anoriginal acrylic painting, two framedlimited edition military ornaments,an art glass necklace, a cookbook,and two dessert trays of tiramisu.

The 2015 White House Christmasornament is also available for pur-chase at the concert. If you wish topurchase an ornament and cannotmake it to the concert, please [email protected]


From Page 3

News

says that it is the constant support andencouragement of her Great Falls friendsand family that help add depth and mean-ing to her life as an author. The close, long-standing bonds, she says, add real value tonot only her writing life, but to her dailylife.

“One of the loveliest aspects of my talk atthe NGA was that auditorium filling withdear friends from the area, from my FairfaxCounty childhood through those who havewatched, with love and applause, my chil-dren grow up in Great Falls and McLean.”

She was also happy that “the barn ladies”showed up – a tight-knit group of femaleequestrians with whom she’s been friendsfor years and who nurtured her daughterMegan’s passion for horse-riding from thetime she was a little girl.

“A large group of barn ladies from SouthDown, gave up an exquisite fall afternoonof riding to come hear me talk,” she saysbefore rethinking it: “Maybe more to hear

Megan, since they have been such devotedfans of her equestrian career” since she wasa little girl.

But it is Elliott’s two children who standat the very center of her heart, both ofwhom provided invaluable assistance as shewrote the book.

Her son Peter, a 21-year-old junior atLoyola Marymount in Los Angeles, wherehe has majored in screenwriting and his-tory, “offered insights that honed charac-ters and dialogue and saved me,” she says.

“The greatest joy in watching all this hasbeen the true sharing of the experienceswith my children,” she says. “Both are cre-ative artists. Both traveled to Italy with meto research. Both read the manuscript invarious stages and offered story-saving ad-vice.”

The tremendous power of the muse is arunning theme that is woven masterfullythroughout the book – in fact, even beforeElliott writes the first word.

The muse is ever present in Elliott’sdedication writing, “For my muses, Meganand Peter.”

Power of the Muse

On Thursday evening, Dec. 17, GreatFalls resident Laura Elliott will discussher newest book, “DaVinci’s Tiger,” anddescribe the intricate process of research-ing and writing the book.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate Laura’swonderful new work, and to celebrate itright here in her own, beautiful backyardof Great Falls,” says Kristin Clark Taylor,founder and facilitator of the Great FallsWriter’s Group (GFWG). “Because herbook touches deeply on both literary andartistic themes, we’re hoping that thisevent will bring writers and visual art-ists together under one roof. It gives usa chance to highlight the happy fact that,artistically, Great Falls is vibrant, visibleand very much alive – creative conver-gence at its best!”

Robin Kent, president of Great FallsStudios, agrees: “We are especially ex-cited about the opportunity for our mem-bers and the community of Great Fallsto participate in an event that brings to-gether two major creative media – writ-ing and the visual arts,” he says.

The event organizers also hope towiden their embrace by welcoming notjust the artists, but the entire GreatFalls community.

Says Daniela Dixon, manager of theGreat Falls Library, a co-partner in theevent, “We have known this Great Fallsauthor a long time and have followed herwriting with interest. Our library systemcarries all of her novels – wonderful his-torical fiction written for a young audi-ence. We are looking forward topartnering with GFWG to bring this ex-citing event to the Great Falls community.”

Elliott will discuss her work, performa brief reading and engage in audienceQ & A. She’ll also be on-hand to sign herbooks. Seating is open; an early arrivalis recommended.

“The doors to this event will beopen to the entire community,” saysTaylor. “Sure, we hope the artisticcommunity will come out in force,but we’re also eager for the commu-nity at large to help us celebrate ourlocal literary hero.”

❖ Laura Elliott, author of the new novel,“DaVinci’s Tiger,” will participate in discus-sion, reading and book signing on Thursday,Dec. 17. Reception (optional) begins at 6:30p.m. Discussion begins promptly at 7:30 atthe Great Falls Library, 9830 GeorgetownPike. Open seating; event is free. Earlyarrival is recommended.

Award-winning Author Comes Home toCelebrate New Novel

TUESDAY/DEC. 1Successful Transitions. 8:30-10 a.m.

Brightview, 10200 Colvin Run Road, Great Falls.Join Gerontologist and our Wellspring VillageDirector, Mikki Firor, for an interactivediscussion on understanding the fundamentalaspects of dementia as well as signs, stages andsupports. RSVP early.www.BrightviewGreatFalls.com. 703-759-2513.

All About IEPs - Answers to FrequentlyAsked Questions About IEPs. 7-8:30 p.m.

Dunn Loring Center for Parent Services, 2334Gallows Road, Dunn Loring. FCPS IEP Specialist,Andrew Guillen, from the Office of SpecialEducation Procedural Support will discussanswers to the most frequently asked questionsabout IEPs. Free. Register at http://www.fcps.edu/dss/osp/prc/.index.shtml.

Bulletin Board To have community events listed in the Connection, send [email protected]. The deadline for submis-sions is the Friday prior to publication.

See Bulletin, Page 9


News

By Ken Moore

The Connection

The Board of Supervisors is atpeace with the county’s newNoise Ordinance.

“Believe it or not, that passes,”said Board of Supervisors Chairman SharonBulova.

On the Nov. 17 meeting of the Board ofSupervisors, the Board adopted a new NoiseOrdinance. The new ordinance becomeseffective on Feb. 17, 2016.

“There were times during this process thatI thought we would never get to this point.Let me tell you, there are competing needs,issues all over the place as to what is toonoisy, what is not noisy, about what isneeded and what is not,” she said.

In June, the Board had deferred actionon the proposed changes to the county’snoise ordinance in June until Nov. 17.

“It was a very productive evolutionthrough five cycles of revisions,” said Su-pervisor John Foust (D-Dranesville). “Wenegotiated this thing for so long.”

“We’re not totally where I want to be, butthis is a significantly improved product andsomething I can vote for,” he said.

Supervisor Michael Frey (R-Sully) spear-headed the Board’s efforts and thankedcounty staff. “They’ve managed to grasp thethings we were trying to codify,” said Frey.

The Board delayed the effective date ofimplementation of the new ordinance toFebruary in order to provide time for stafftraining, to update County websites, and toassist staff in understanding the new regu-lations, according to county documents.

The Board will revisit the impact of thenoise ordinance and its effectiveness in 18months to determine what might need tobe tweaked for the long run.

“I’m not happy with everything that is inhere, but at this point I’m prepared to sup-port it, but appreciate that we can revisitit,” said Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Spring-field).

Supervisor Jeff McKay (D-Lee District)says the outcome makes the ordinancemuch easier to enforce.

“This turned into something entirely dif-ferent from where it started. I also agreethat this wasn’t intended to address everynoise issue,” said McKay, “but at the end ofthe day it makes for better enforcement andmakes it a lot more clear which made thenoise ordinance difficult to enforce.”

OVERALL GOALS of the proposed NoiseOrdinance is to recognize that there willalways be certain levels of noise that occurin the normal course of daily living; to al-low certain levels of daytime noise so thatpeople can live, work and play during theday; and to minimize noise at night so resi-dents have an appropriate quiet environ-

ment in their homes at night.More than 30 speakers testified at a pub-

lic hearing last May on the noise ordinance.“When babies cannot sleep, when the eld-

erly cannot rest, when a voice teacher can-not instruct, when a family cannot share ameal together on their patio, when a ho-meowner has to close her windows andmove to another part of the house just tomake a telephone call, when a cancer pa-tient cannot recuperate and rest in her yardbecause music is amplified in the neighbor-hood at intrusive levels, then we knowsomething is not right with life in FairfaxCounty,” said Joyce Harris of McLean.

Sheila Casey, of Reston, said she can hearmowers on a nearby golf course beforedawn with maintenance crews sometimesusing headlights on lawnmowers before 5a.m. “All I know is when those lawn mow-ers are running, I can turn on my air condi-tioning, I can put in my earplugs, and I stillhear the noise,” she said.

Other speakers included: Greg Budnikwho discussed helicopter noise from train-ing runs at Fort Belvoir; Mark Grove ofFairfax whose wife was recuperating fromcancer treatment and had to contend withmusic from a supermarket across the streetthat had permits to play music until 11 p.m.;Keith Elgin, worship director of Vine Churchin Dunn Loring, who wants to create eventssuch as outdoor movies and concerts dur-ing the summer months; to neighbors inReston who say they can not get relief fromnoise of nearby dog parks; to those who taketheir dogs to dog parks to spare neighborsfrom noise.

AMPLIFIED MUSIC from loudspeakers atschools during athletic practices and pre-game festivities took center stage.

Fairfax County Public Schools will replaceloudspeakers at McLean High School withregulators to ensure that they are properlycalibrated.

The school system is finalizing regulatoryguidelines so athletic directors know exactlywhat needs to be done to keep harmonywith neighborhoods in proximity with theschools.

“That’s a big deal, and let’s make surewhen that agreement is formally adoptedthat we keep it with our noise ordinance,”said Bulova.

Other topics of major concern addresseddog parks, trash pickups from commercialshopping centers next to neighborhoods,and lawn maintenance.

Fairfax and other Virginia governmentshad to rewrite their noise ordinance as aresult of a Virginia Supreme Court decisionoverturning the ordinance in Virginia Beach,according to county documents.

For more, see http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/zoning/noiseordinance/

County passes new noise ordinance,will revisit effectiveness in 18 months.

Quiet Riot: ‘C’mon Feelthe Noise’


Opinion

There is a joy to participating in community traditions and celebrationsduring the holidays, from walkingalong a sidewalk with the streets

decked out for the holidays, to shopping inlocal stores, to being greeted by someone likelyto be the owner of the store, to finding giftsthat are not mass-produced.

One way to be sure holiday shopping comeswith some holiday spirit is to do a portion ofyour shopping in some of the area’s locallyowned stores. There is special holidayambiance available by shopping in theheart of a town that is decked out forthe season. Small retail shops are partof defining any community. Their livelihooddepends on the livability and quality of theneighborhoods around them. A small businessowner pays attention to every detail in his orher business in a way that is otherwise un-matched.

We all benefit when local stores thrive, whenlocal business districts beckon. An effort tosupport locally owned businesses has resultedin the recognition of Small Business Saturday,the Saturday after Thanksgiving, also called

Shop Small. This year that day is Nov. 28.Locally owned retail shops, services, restau-

rants depend on vibrant local communities tothrive, and communities depend on those busi-nesses as well. Most small, locally owned busi-nesses invest in community, helping to trans-form our towns and communities with a senseof place.

Frequently, it is the small retail person whois active in fundraising for local charities, ad-vocating for improvements, for fire and res-cue service, for local schools and in organiz-ing holiday events.

Local retail stores, mom-and-pop stores, facetough challenges right now. Competition frombig box stores and online sellers makes the

holiday shopping season all the moreimportant to locally owned retailers.But local families will literally spendmillions of dollars to shop and ex-

change gifts during the next month in a vari-ety of places.

Everyone will do some of their shopping atthe mall. Everyone will shop online. Many willanswer the call of the big box. But local shop-pers should be sure to do some celebrating,shopping and dining locally. We promise itbrings more joy.

— Mary Kimm

[email protected]

Every day can be“small business day.”

Celebrate, Shop, Dine LocallyChildren’s Connection

During the last week of each year, The Connec-tion devotes its entire issue to the creativity of localstudents and children. It is a keepsake edition formany families. The annual Children’s Connectionis a tradition of well over a decade.

We publish artwork, poetry, essays, creative writ-ing, opinion pieces, short stories, photography, pho-tos of sculpture or gardens or other creative efforts.

We ask that all submissions be digital so they canbe sent through email or delivered on CD or flashdrive. Writing should be submitted in rich text for-mat (.rtf). Artwork should be photographed orscanned and provided in jpeg format.

We welcome contributions from public and pri-vate schools, individuals and homeschoolers. To bepublished, we must have first and last name of thestudent. Please include the student’s age and/orgrade, school attended and town of residence.

Identify each piece of writing or art, includingthe student’s full name, age, grade and town of resi-dence, plus the name of the school, name of teacherand town of school location. Please provide sub-missions by Friday, Dec. 4.

Email submissions for the Children’s Connectionto [email protected] line should be school name, town andteacher's last name (e.g. Westgate ES, McLean,Card).

Editorial

By Margi Preston

Executive Director

FACETS

Sometimes it takes a challenge to makeprogress. That’s what happened here inFairfax when leaders of six nonprofits

serving those who are homeless decided topush themselves to do more.

With the second largest homeless populationin the region, homelessness is a real problemin the Fairfax County-Falls Church community.A majority of the people who are homeless arein working families with children. Throughoutthe year, FACETS works in partnership withFairfax’s Office to Prevent and EndHomelessness and other nonprofits to bring ourcommunity closer to a day when no one ishomeless through a variety of effective pro-grams. And in the summer of 2014, we decidedto do even more by teaming up with five otherlocal nonprofits to motivate ourselves to reachnew records in moving people fromhomelessness to housing.

Our power team — FACETS, New HopeHousing, Cornerstones, Shelter House, NVFSand Volunteers of America-Chesapeake —kicked off a year-long Fairfax County HousingChallenge. The challenge was modeled afterthe successful Rapid Rehousing Challenge,which was organized by the National Allianceto End Homelessness to motivate nonprofitsstatewide to rapidly re-house as many fami-lies as possible within 100 days.

Rapid re-housing is a proven and cost-effec-tive strategy used by communities across the

country to reduce homelessness. It involveshelping households move into housing asquickly as possible after they enter the sheltersystem. Families and individuals are housedin market-rate apartments or houses in thecommunity, and receive rental subsidies and/or services that are tailored to their specificneeds, including a caseworker to help ease thetransition.

Our housing challenge showed the real ben-efits of collaboration. Together we set and metquarterly ambitious goals to find homes foreven more people who were unstably housedand homeless. We brainstormed and found newways to get people out of homelessness andinto safe and secure housing. And it worked.At the end of the challenge, nearly 500 singleadults and more than 220 families now have ahome of their own and services to help themremain housed.

As important as it is to get people into hous-ing right away so they can start the transitionback to a stable life, we all recognize that pre-venting homelessness is the top priority. Likeour nonprofit partners, FACETS relies on helpfrom volunteers and partnerships with the faithand business communities to preventhomelessness throughout Fairfax County byoffering a full spectrum of services, such asbasic needs and financial assistance, careercounseling and outreach, educational enrich-ment programs, and permanent housing.

With the cold temperatures approaching, wehave begun to gear up for our Hypothermia

Prevention and Response Program. Through apartnership with over 40 faith communities,this program enables FACETS to offer refugefrom the bitter cold to over 200 individuals inour community who are homeless each year.The success of the Fairfax Housing Challengehas inspired us to remain motivated in help-ing even more people come in from the coldthis winter and ideally keep more from everhaving to experience the cold at all. We are upfor the challenge … and I know our commu-nity partners are too. That’s a win for the wholecommunity. To learn more, visit us atwww.FacetsCares.org.

The Challenge of Ending HomelessnessCommentary

Entering Into the ArenaTo the Editor:

Theodore Roosevelt once said that the creditbelongs to those who are in the arena. CraigParisot should be commended for stepping intothe arena in what he knew would be a toughfight. Northern Virginia is becoming increasinglypolarized and competitive and, as a result, thecost, both financially and personally, of runningfor office here is exorbitant. Respected incum-bents declined to run for reelection this year,no doubt in part because of this strain. Craigknew what he was walking into, but he did itanyway out of a desire to serve his community.Thank you Craig Parisot for entering into thearena. I hope you are not done fighting.

Priscilla M. GriffithMcLean

Letters to the Editor

3

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Ken MooreCommunity Reporter

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Handling the Holidays. 5-7 p.m. Long andFoster, 1355 Beverly Road, Suite 300, Cafe 3,McLean. The Women’s Center of Vienna identifycommon holiday stressors. Learn to cope withholiday-related emotions. Understand how tocreate expectations for your holidays that canbecome a reality. Free. 703-903-8643.

THURSDAY/DEC. 3McLean Children’s Academy Registration

Open House. 9:45-11:30 a.m. 6900 Elm St.,McLean. This is for registration for 2015/16School Year as well as for next Fall, 2016/17.

Please bring your child and come tour theschool. www.childrensacademy.com. 703-734-2353.

TUESDAY/DEC. 8Rotary Club Meeting. Noon-1:15 p.m.

Fellowship Hall of the Lutheran Church of theRedeemer, 1545 Chain Bridge Road, McLean.Carrie Hessler-Radelet, director of the PeaceCorps, will address the club at its meeting onTuesday, December 8, 2015. Hessler-Radeletwill speak briefly about the history of the PeaceCorps and more extensively about the PeaceCorps current activities. Free.www.mcleanrotary.org.

From Page 6

Bulletin Board

To the Editor:After seeing the article, “Area Coaches to

be Honored for Work Empowering Girls,” Icould not help but think how great it is tosee women inspiring women in sports. Ithink female coaches have a huge impacton the girls they coach because the younggirls can so easily relate to them. I remem-ber being in elementary school and feelinganxiety or nervous every time I had to par-ticipate in the mile or any other physicalfitness test. Once I started soccer, basket-ball and dance, my female coaches helpedme conquer my fears of not only being shybut playing sports in general. My confidencedefinitely grew because of them.

We see more and more that femalecoaches are disappearing and being re-

placed by a male coach. The Title 9 act madeit so that there needs to be an equal num-ber of male and female athletes at a school.Because of this more male teams are beingcut to equal the number of female teams.

As the male teams are cut their malecoaches move over to the female team.There has been a huge decrease in the num-ber of female coaches. In 1972, 90 percentof female teams had female coaches but in2008 only 43 percent had female coaches.

To see that there are still female coachesin my community encouraging and inspir-ing young girls is a great and heart-warm-ing thing to see.

Mary Hagen GrowGreat Falls

Women Inspiring Women in Sports

Letters

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By Ken Moore

The Connection

Share of McLean raises $50,000 thisholiday season to give clothing, toysand gift cards to approximately 250families in need in McLean, Great

Falls and Pimmit Hills. Families are invitedto a holiday celebration in December.

“I can not think of a better way to spendthe holidays than to spend all the months toprepare this program and then see the cli-ents at the party, old ladies dancing, chil-dren opening gifts,” said Chris Wilbur, theholiday program chair of Share of McLean.

“To me, that’s the true spirit of the holi-days,” she said.

More than 50 volunteers serve around 640individuals in need who live in McLean,Great Falls and Pimmit Hills areas.

“I love talking to the kids and hearing whatthey are doing in school, what sports they play,and what character they dressed up as forHalloween,” said Lisa Waldow, a volunteer.

Waldow has lived in McLean for five years.“It never occurred to me that there are so

many families struggling to make ends meet.It was surprising to see the other side of thecoin. All of my other volunteer work inMcLean has been fundraising, and our com-munity is very generous. I think a lot ofpeople are simply unaware of this huge needin our midst.”

“Many people don’t realize that in one ofthe wealthier communities in the UnitedStates, we have so many needy people righthere,” said Wilbur.

SINCE 1969, Share of McLean has pro-vided emergency assistance to the less for-tunate in McLean and Pimmit Hills and GreatFalls.

Programs include family emergency finan-cial assistance; distribution of food and usedclothing; recycled furniture; and transpor-tation services for seniors.

Share also provides clients with grocerygift cards and gifts during the holidays, re-

furbished computers and school supplies.Share is an all-volunteer organization, so

they are able to say that 100 percent of do-nations go to the direct benefit of their cli-ents.

Food Pantry and Clothing Rooms areopen Wednesday and Saturdays from 9:30a.m. to noon in donated space at the McLeanBaptist Church, 1367 Chain Bridge Rd.

AROUND OCTOBER, Share of McLeanshifts into high gear for the holidays.

“We definitely have volunteers that comeback year after year. Starting in October, weget emails saying, ‘Remember me?’” saidWilbur. “For everybody involved, it justmakes Christmas a little brighter.”

Share clients turn in holiday wish lists inOctober, and Share passes the wishes to thefaith communities, schools, local businessesand generous individuals.

Many wish for gift cards and grocery giftcards.

“For some people, they think giving a gift

card is impersonal, but for our clients hav-ing choices to pick toys for their childrenand a pair of pants for them, that’s part ofthe gift,” said Wilbur.

“If someone needs bedding, they can askfor the appropriate size and a favorite color.A single mom can ask for gift cards for herchildren and then she can select gifts for herchildren that she knows they will love. Manyelderly people just ask for grocery gift cardsbecause they don’t need stuff, they just needa little help making ends meet with theirfood budget,” according to Wilbur.

The holiday program team needs to raiseabout $50,000 yearly in donations, as wellas procure assorted gift items.

Victor Kimm, of McLean, remembers theend of one party when Share volunteerswere approached by a woman who said herhusband was dying. All she wanted was tobe able to stay in her house to honor herhusband’s request. “She said the help wegave her enabled them to stay in theirhome,” he said. “Every year, we hear stories

like that.”

SHARE hosts a party, which will be heldDec. 12 this year. One volunteer plays thepiano for four hours throughout the party;a Santa and Mrs. Claus cheer children whilea volunteer photographer takes photos formoms and dads to cherish.

“People love to volunteer at the holidaycelebration,” said Wilbur. “You start out withan empty gym and in the course of two days,it gets completely decorated. We have ladiesthat make the centerpieces, we have a manwho plays the piano for four hours withouta break. It’s amazing.”

And much of the community gets involved.Just for instance:Franklin Sherman Elementary School has

a yearly mitten tree.Haycock Elementary classes adopt fami-

lies.Each year, businesses, such as McEnearney

Associates Realtors, adopt families for bothThanksgiving and the December holidays,

and Child’s Play Toys generously helps Santafulfill his extensive toy list.

Giant Food has a wish tree and toiletriesdrive and provides around 350 reusable bagsfor Thanksgiving and the Celebration.

Trinity United Methodist and St. ThomasEpiscopal have angel trees.

Rodef Shalom collected Thanksgiving gro-cery gift cards.

McLean Baptist provides grocery cards forThanksgiving and various gift cards for theholiday celebration.

New Dominion Women’s Club fulfillswishes and bakes cookies for the celebra-tion.

First Baptist donates gifts cards for theholidays.

Immanuel Presbyterian donates gift cardsfor the holidays

Langley High School Key club fulfillswishes for teens.

McLean High School Leadership provideshomeless kits.

McLean Crew Club has a gift card drive atthe MHS holiday bazaar.

Many scout troops volunteer and holddrives to collect baby items or toiletry drives.

Rotary Club is providing most of the foodfor the celebration as well as volunteers.

McLean Preschool gathers baby items forShare’s tiniest clients.

See www.shareofmclean.org.

Share of McLean continues to meetchallenges faced by 250 families in need inMcLean and Great Falls and Pimmit Hills.

SharingSeason of Giving

Share of McLean prepares for its annual Holidaycelebration.

Share of McLean was organized in 1969 to help withemergency needs of families of McLean, Great Fallsand Pimmit Hills.

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Get InvolvedBusinesses, organizations and individuals can

become community partners by adopting a family,donating items such as laundry and dishwasherdetergent, toothbrushes, restaurant gift cards, or bymaking a donation.

Contact Chris Wilbur at [email protected] sponsor a client or family.

Share Programs: By the Numbers1,000

About 1,000 volunteer hours per month are neededto maintain programs, so Share of McLean is constantlyrecruiting new volunteers. Share is an all-volunteer or-ganization with no paid employees, no office and nopaid fundraisers. Operations are run by about 35 corevolunteers and another 200 occasional volunteers.

See www.shareofmclean.org.

1969Share of McLean was established as a non-profit

corporation in 1969 by a coalition of McLean faithcommunities to meet the emergency needs of the poorin McLean, Pimmit Hills and nearby areas of north-ern Virginia. It now serves Great Falls families in need.Share receives no government funding and is depen-dent solely on the generosity of private donors.

1,500Share served 1,500 households and 4,030 family

members in some capacity during the 2015 fiscal year.Clients are best described as the working poor andinclude economically distressed families and individu-als, seniors living on limited pensions who are oftenfacing medical problems, impoverished immigrants,recently homeless folks and victims of spousal abuse.

995The Family Assistance program with Share’s crisis

intervention program pays bills to cover short-termneeds such as rent payments to avoid evictions, utili-ties payments to ward off service terminations andprescription drug emergencies. Share responded tomore than 995 calls for assistance and provided$144,776 of financial assistance to households, con-

3Share and its Family PASS program supports three

families previously referred by us to Family PASS,which support families in need of in-depth assis-tance with family counseling, housing stabilization,budgeting and job training. In conjunction withthese referrals to Family PASS, Share provides ad-junct monetary support to Family PASS.

150Computers and 40 printers have been refurbished

in Share’s Refurbished Computers program to giveto families with with school-aged children.

365Share conducts year-round food drives through

local schools, religious communities, local busi-nesses, service organizations, and the local Post Of-fices through which individuals provide virtually allof the non-perishable foodstuffs for distributionthrough our food room to eligible client families.More than 300 volunteers signed up to organize,conduct, and process these food drives for Share.

2,700Pounds of bread and pastries from participating

supermarkets were delivered to the food room, lo-cal shelters and other charitable organizationsthrough Share’s Baked Goods program.

$7,500The School Supplies program provided approxi-

mately $7,500 of new school supplies to meet theclassroom and school specific supply lists for 124students including calculators for local middleschool students whose families could not otherwisemeet these important needs.

taining about 2709 family members. During theseactivities, Share of McLean works closely with FairfaxCounty’s Coordinated Services program.

$389,200The Food and Clothing Programs, operated in do-

nated space at the McLean Baptist Church, providedhouseholds in need with about $389,200 of “food-stuff.” During the year, Share provided 11,120 bagsof groceries and 3,200 bags of clothing to clients.About 174 families visited the food pantry and usedclothing room each month.

2,000Pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables were distrib-

uted from mid May to early October through Share’sFresh Produce program because of efforts at a combi-nation of community gardens at Lewinsville Park, sixfaith-based community gardens in McLean, and localgleaning at area farms. Share joins the efforts of FairfaxCounty to improve the nutritional substance of fooddonations distributed through facilities located withinthe county to families in need. Share also procuredfresh produce and frozen meat from the Capitol AreaFood Bank to supplement supplies for food room.

297The Furniture Exchange program made 297 de-

liveries of furniture last year to more than 250households. The beneficiaries of the furniture ex-change are indigent even though many of them havejobs, disabled, formerly homeless or victims of spou-sal abuse. Share owns two trucks with which vol-unteers pick up usable furniture from donors anddeliver it to individuals and families who cannotafford to buy furniture. Nearly all of them are re-ferred to by county social workers and nonprofits.


tion of deer meat by Green Fire, and the permissionto prepare the venison dishes at the Great Falls Meth-odist Church’s nonprofit inspected kitchen, JulioGomez, Triny’s chef, was able to prepare three veni-son dishes off site for the event. Those who visitedthe market were able to taste venison enchiladas,venison soup and venison fillet mignon, referred toas carne asado. The enchiladas were gone quickly,and all pots were empty by the end of the market.Lilia Dubynin provided support and assistance toaccomplish the challenging workload in record time.

TRINY’S TEX-MEX GRILL – A NEW GREATFALLS RESTAURANT

Four brothers and their families came to the U.S.from El Salvador without a penny 35 years ago. They

began their first Tex-Mex busi-ness in Texas. It is still operat-ing today. Porfirio Mejia,owner of Triny’s, is the oldestof seven children in a close-knit family.

Porfirio did not choose tolocate his restaurant in GreatFalls. Great Falls chose Porfirioand his wife Triny - short forTrinidad. A real estate agentcalled Porfirio to come see acommercial space that justcame on the market in GreatFalls. The current location is adream come true, a true bless-ing. The family loves the placeand they thank God everydayfor the blessing of connectingthem with this space – evermindful of the blessing theyhave received.

Triny — Porfirio’s wife forwhom the Great Falls restau-rant is named — is in the res-taurant every morning, super-vising the preparation of thehomemade cuisine. Everything– including chips and salsa –are made fresh daily. The fam-ily business consists of fourbrothers in business together.

Porfirio’s son and daughter-in-law are in the busi-ness, as well as Celso, his nephew, who is the man-ager. Nine family members work together to operatethe restaurant. El Tio Restaurant in McLean is ownedand run by Porfirio’s brother.

The family is so happy to be in Great Falls andwants to do their best to prepare good food for theGreat Falls community. They believe that when eachfamily member does their job well, the entire familycan benefit and thrive.

Jerry Peters cautions on the dangers ofignoring the deer population - auto acci-dents, threat to the forest, crops, foliage,etc.

News

Boy Scout Troop 673, spon-sored by the Great Falls UnitedMethodist Men, recently pro-moted a new Eagle Scout, RyanLaughrey, on Nov. 12. Ryan isthe 123rd Eagle Scout fromTroop 673.

Ryan, son of Colonel Jamesand Loretta Laughrey, joinedTroop 673 in 2012 after trans-ferring from Troop 173 inCarlisle, Pa. Ryan quicklyemerged as a leader and servedas a Patrol Leader, AssistantSenior Patrol Leader, Quarter-master and Instructor. Whileserving in these positions, hewas accepted into the Order ofthe Arrow, Scouting’s NationalHonor Society, and earned 30merit badges. Ryan was theonly senior Scout who steppedup to lead the younger Scoutson their own version of a HighAdventure in August 2013,leading a crew of a half-dozenrising sixth and seventh grad-ers on the Hike Across Mary-land – hiking for over 40 milesin five days along the Appala-chian Trail and performing aservice project along the way.

For his Eagle Project, Ryan su-

pervised the building and in-stallation of shelves and a fire-place screen in the playroomand the office at the AlternativeHouse, a home for abused andhomeless youth, in DunnLoring. Wall-mounted shelvesallow the staff and residents tostore toys, books, binders, andoffice supplies neatly and freeup floor space. In phase 1 of theproject, Ryan and troop Scoutspainted the shelves at an offsitelocation. In phase 2, Ryan, hisfamily, and troop Scouts in-stalled the shelves.

Ryan is a senior at MarshallHigh School and has been ac-tive on the Robotics Team. Hehas also received numerousawards including AerospaceScience Student of the Year,Fairfax County Public Schools(FCPS) Regional Science Fair2nd Place, and the FCPS Sci-ence Fair Rodger H. Flagg Me-morial Award for Innovation.Ryan played soccer with the PASouth Middleton Soccer Asso-ciation (U13-U17) and theNorthern Virginia SuburbanFriendship League (U19) andhas worked as a soccer referee.

Ryan Laughrey BecomesEagle Scout

Photo contributed

Ryan Laughrey

By Kathleen Murphy

Great Falls Farmers Market Manager

Deer bucks are out, antlers and all, mark-ing the launch of mating season. Thespring crop of fawns have just lost theirspots, meaning that they are now

weaned and on their own. Typi-cally, they go into their first heatin the month of November andare ready to deliver a fawn nextApril. They stick close to theplace where they are born, soif they were born in your back-yard, they, their offspring, andgenerations to come, are likelyto be hanging out or hidingclose by. It is also notable thathunting season has just begun.

A WAY TO CULL THEHERD

Jerry Peters, owner of GreenFire, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit,worked for the Fairfax CountyPark Authority for most of hiscareer before retiring. Indig-nant about the loss of the for-est understory in the forest inhis own backyard as well asthroughout the local parks andneighbors’ backyards, Peterslaunched Green Fire, to takeconstructive action against theuncontrolled proliferation ofdeer throughout Great Falls. Hehas set up an archery team anda contractual network in whichneighbors can work together tocull the herd to sustainable levels. Visitwww.greenfireweb.com for detailed informationabout options.

A TASTE OF VENISON BY TRINY CHEFTriny’s participated in the Deer Management event

sponsored by Green Fire at the Great Falls FarmersMarket last Saturday. Since deer is considered wildgame, it could not be brought to a restaurant estab-lishment to be prepared or sold. Thanks to the dona-

Deer managementeducation event heldNov. 21 at the GreatFalls Farmers Market.

Deer Return to Great Falls Backyards

Farmers market shoppers enjoy venisoncuisine as they learn about deer manage-ment strategies.

Doreen Peters, wife of JerryPeters, pitches in to help servethe venison soup as PorfirioMejia, owner of Triny’s, tastesthe enchilada prepared by JulioGomez (in the background),while Porfirio’s niece looks on.Venison enchiladas, fillet asado,and soup were kept hot on thebarbecue stove behind.

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Holly & IvyA CHRISTMAS MARKETPLACE

Saturday, Dec. 5, 10-5Sunday, Dec. 6, 9-3

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Home Décor & Christmas GiftsFine Stationery, Jewelry, Ornaments

Childrens’ Books & AccessoriesGifts for Baby… and much more!

Used Book Sale!

News

The GFSC ‘00 Cheetahs, a U15 girls travel soccerteam based in Great Falls, recently capped off anunbeaten season by winning the U16 Old DominionSoccer League championship, their third consecutiveODSL title. The Cheetahs, made up almost equallyof U14 and U15 players, competed in the ODSL U16Division and posted an 8-0 record in league play.Including tournament play, the Cheetahs finished 11-1 during the fall season, scoring 35 goals while giv-ing up 11, and finished second in the DiadoraAmerica Cup tournament. This is the second time

during their streak of championships that the Chee-tahs finished with an unbeaten regular season record,posting a combined record of 19-2-3 over the lastthree seasons.

The Cheetahs are also two time winners of theRandy Rawls Sportsmanship Award, given to theODSL team that exhibits the best sportsmanship andsense of fair play. The Cheetahs are led by head coachPhilip Nickles, assistant coaches Bill Luraschi andBryan Richardson, and team manager Tiffany Kim,and are trained by Nick MacLean.

Great Falls Cheetahs Capture Third StraightODSL Championship

Front row: Anna Shep-herd, Audrey Kim,Sophie Luraschi.Middle Row: MollyBuckler, Sam Brascia,Haley Richardson,Courtney Brandt. BackRow: Allie Brascia,Anna Brascia, HannahRichardson, VictoriaStark, Bella Shapiro,Mari Gardiner. Notpictured: ClaraNickles, Lorin Costley,Reece Herberg

Photo contributed


FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF VIENNA

450 ORCHARD STREET, NWVIENNA, VA 22180

[email protected]

www.fbcv.org

SUNDAY WORSHIP, 7:45 AM & 11:00 AMCHURCH SCHOOL 9:30AM-10:30AMMIDWEEK SERVICES, WED. 7:00 PM

Visit These Houses of Worship

To Highlight Your Faith Community,call Karen at 703-917-6468

7:45 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite I9:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II

Sunday School: preschool - grade 2Music: grades 3 - 7

10:25 a.m. Sunday School Grades 3 to 6Music 4 years to 2nd grade

11:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist, Rite II5:00 p.m. Come Just as You Are Contemporary Service

Nursery care provided at 9:00 a.m. service

The Rev. James Papile, RectorThe Rev. Laura Cochran

703-437-6530www.stannes-reston.org

1700 Wainwright Dr., Reston

ST. ANNE’SEPISCOPALCHURCH • Reston

Welcoming, Diverse, Progressive

Send announcements to [email protected]. Deadline isFriday for the following week’s paper.Photos/artwork encouraged.

ONGOING”Harvey.” Check for show times. Nov.

12-Dec. 20. 1st Stage, 1524 SpringHill Road, Tysons Corner. Winner ofthe Pulitzer Prize for Drama, thisbeloved classic is a treat for thewhole family. Veta Simmons and herdaughter Myrtle Mae have justmoved back into town and aremaking quite a splash on the socialscene. Gatherings and engagementsabound as Myrtle Mae peruses for aviable suitor. $15-$30.www.1ststagetysons.org. 703-854-1856.

Meadowlark Gardens’ WinterWalk of Lights. Nov. 14-Jan. 4. Ahalf-a-million colorful LED lightsspan the lakeside and gardens ofMeadowlark Botanical Gardens offBeulah Road in nostalgic andfairytale scenes of the holiday season.http://winterwalkoflights.com/.

WEDNESDAY/NOV. 257th Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Wine

Tasting Extravaganza. Noon-6p.m. The Vineyard, 1445 LaughlinAve., McLean. Pouring 25-30 perfectwines for Thanksgiving dinner andthe rest of the holiday season. Specialdiscounts on all the wines beingtasted, as well as special prizesthroughout the day. Free.www.thevineyardva.com. 703-288-2970.

Nature Night. 5:30-9:30 p.m.Meadowlark, 9750 MeadowlarkGardens Court, Vienna. Visit with thenaturalist and his reptile andamphibian friends. http://winterwalkoflights.com. 703-255-3631.

THURSDAY/NOV. 26Wildfire Thanksgiving. 10:30 a.m.-

8:30 p.m. Wildfire, Third floor,Tysons Galleria, 2001 InternationalDrive, McLean. A special family stylemenu featuring spit roasted turkeyand all the traditional Thanksgivingdishes. $45.95 per person, $19.95 forchildren 12 and under. Portion of theday’s proceeds will be donated toFood for Others. 703-442-9110.www.wildfirerestaurant.com/mclean.

FRIDAY/NOV. 27John Eaton. 8 p.m. The Barns, Wolf

Trap, 1645 Trap Road, Vienna. Joinrenowned pianist and vocalist, JohnEaton, as he interprets the GreatAmerican Songbook. Eaton is one ofthe flagship artists of the Wolf TrapRecording label and he has releasedeight albums to date that include themusic of Richard Rodgers, RayCharles, the Beatles, and Cole Porter.Tickets: $25-$27. For moreinformation, visit http://www.wolftrap.org/ or call 703-255-1900.

SATURDAY/NOV. 28CR Dance for Everyone. 6:30-11:30

p.m. Colvin Run Community Hall,10201 Colvin Run Road, Great Falls.DJ Music mix of contemporary andclassic dance music including westcoast swing, east coast swing, hustle,Latin, country western 2-step, waltzand more. $12.00 per personincludes optional lesson, dance, sodaand snacks. Contact Ed Cottrell at703-435-5620 [email protected] for moreinformation.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY/NOV. 27-29.33rd Annual Thanksgiving Art and

Craft Show. Friday-Saturday, 10a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Spring Hill RECenter, 1239 SpringHill Road, McLean. Featuringoriginal, handmade craft and artworkof approximately 80 local artists andartisans. $5. www.nvhg.org.

SUNDAY/NOV. 29Breakfast with Santa. 9 a.m., 10

a.m., noon. Wildfire, Tysons Galleria,2001 International Drive, McLean.Chilli, morning show co-host on 97.1WASH-FM at iHeartMedia, will beWildfire’s special guest host for theevent. In addition, children will getto visit with Santa and receive aspecial gift bag. $15 for childrenunder 12, $20 for adults. Reserve at703-442-9110.

THURSDAY/DEC. 3Holiday Homes Tour. 10 a.m. - 3

p.m. Lewinsville Road, McLean. Thefour homes are all large, eleganthouses on half- to one-acre lots andare easily accessible from LewinsvilleRoad and other local arteries. Eachhouse will be decorated with theholidays in mind and will highlightfamily life in McLean.www.mcleanwc.org.

Face Painting. 5:30-9 p.m.Meadowlark, 9750 MeadowlarkGardens Court, Vienna. Children willenjoy festive snowflakes, snowmenand other holiday face paintingimages. Free. http://winterwalkoflights.com. 703-255-3631.

Annual Champagne Tasting. 7:30-9p.m. The Vineyard, 1445 LaughlinAve., McLean. As always, there willbe over 20 of our favorite sparklingwine and Champagnes available totry so you can find the perfect bottlefor your New Year’s celebration. $30.RSVP at 703-288-2970 [email protected].

THURSDAY-SATURDAY/DEC. 3-5”She Kills Monsters.” 7:30 p.m.

McLean High School, 1633 DavidsonRoad, McLean. TheatreMcLean, therecently renamed award-winningtheatre department at McLean HighSchool, launches its new season byentering into the fantasy role playingrealm of Qui Nguyen’s “She KillsMonsters.” This show marks the firstproduction directed by new theatrefaculty members Chip Rome andPhillip Reid. $12-$15. Matureaudiences. visit https://sites.google.com/site/theatremclean/

FRIDAY/DEC.4Happy Holidays from

Rocknoceros. 10:30 a.m. Jammin’Java, 227 Maple Ave. East, Vienna.Happy Holidays from Rocknoceros isa musical “Norman Rockwell” thatcaptures the essence of theprocession of holidays that punctuateeach year with a festive exclamationpoint. $5. www.jamminjava.com.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY/DEC. 4-5Annual Renaissance Feaste. 7 p.m.

Capital Church, 10233 Leesburg Pike,Vienna. Journey back to Merrie OldeEngland for a festive evening ofRenaissance-style dining and musicalentertainment. Enter the Greate Hallefor a spectacular holiday celebrationfeaturing costumed servers, jesters,minstrels, musicians and the LangleyMadrigals. Reservations required. Goto http://www.langleychorus.com/monthly-calendar/ to find out how toreserve your spot.

SATURDAY/DEC. 5Holiday Open House. 1-4 p.m.

Brightview, 10200 Colvin Run Road,Great Falls. Join the Brightview GreatFalls community in ringing in theWinter Season! Enjoy thedecorations, music, refreshments andgood cheer.

Christmas Bazaar. 10 a.m.-3 p.m.Epiphany United Methodist Church,1014 Country Club Lane, Vienna.Handmade Wreaths, See’s Candy,silent auction and more. 703-938-3494. www.epiphany.com.

Artist’s Reception, PublicWelcome. 3-6 p.m. Great FallsLibrary, 9830 Georgetown Pike,Great Falls. Former Corcoran docentRalph Dashner describes theprintmaking techniques that led tohis 23-piece exhibit, “Truth andBeauty: Fine Art Prints in the DigitalAge.” The exhibit will be on displaythrough December. [email protected].

SATURDAY-SUNDAY/DEC. 5-6Great Falls HolidayFest. 10 a.m.-5

p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.Great Falls Grange and the OldSchoolhouse, 9818 Georgetown Pike,Great Falls. Shopping, art, food,lights, crafts. Noon-4 p.m. Santa willbe at the Old Schoolhouse forpictures. On Sunday, 4:30-6:30 p.m.will be the Celebration of Lights,which will have hot cider and cocoa,Yule log, choral groups, petting zoo,pony rides, live nativity scene and thearrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus byantique fire truck. Town Christmastree will be lit. Free.www.GreatFallsStudios.com.

SATURDAY/DEC. 12Traditional Holiday Tale, “A

Christmas Carol.” 1 and 4 p.m.The Alden Theatre, 1234 InglesideAve., McLean. Perhaps the best lovedholiday story of all time, Theatre IV’sadaptation of Charles Dickens’ classicis particularly suited to children. $10,$15. http://mcleancenter.org/alden-theatre. 703-790-0123.

SUNDAY/DEC. 13

Calendar

“A ChristmasCarol” with a kid-friendly twistcomes to TheAlden in McLeanfor a two-showperformance onSaturday, Dec. 12.

See Calendar, Page 15


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”Welcome to Our World.” 10 a.m.Great Falls Methodist Church, 10100Georgetown Pike, Great Falls. amusical for Christmas written byClaire Cloninger and Robert Sterling.The musical includes traditionalcarols, newer praise songs and, of

course, original material. There’ssomething for everyone in the family.www.greatfallsumc.org. 703-759-3705.

Christmas Festival. 6-7:30 p.m.Lewinsville Presbyterian Church,1724 Chain Bridge Road, McLean.The church choirs will be joined by astring ensemble as they prepare for

Christmas with a program entitled“Dance and Sing! Christ is Born!” Themusic includes those carols writtenwith the rhythms of dance, includingthe final movement of the BachBrandenburg Concerto No. 5. Theprogram will be followed by dessertin St. Andrews Hall. Free.www.lewinsville.org.

Calendar

By David Siegel

The Connection

With impeccable comic mastery, 1stStage has produced a priceless,crisp “Harvey,” the 1945 PulitzerPrize winning play written by

Mary Chase. Originally aimed at a WWII war-weary America, “Harvey” is a delightfully actedshow, full of absurd situations and small gems ofserious-minded moments.

“Harvey” spins around a character named ElwoodP. Dowd, who may or may not be a delusional alco-holic. The show probes the notion that being “aperfectly normal human being” might make some-one a “stinker.” It rummages into the possibilitythat a “pooka” (in Irish Folklore, a presence visibleonly to those who believe) exists in the guise ofsix-foot tall, “unseen” rabbit named Harvey.

Directed by Michael Chamberlin, “Harvey” has acornucopia of stellar performances. A supportingensemble has many laughable moments, makingon-stage shambles into blissful entertainment. Thesupporting cast make the production appealingeven with characters that might be viewed as out-of-date given their 1945 origins and viewpoints.

Eccentric to a fault, Dowd is played by JonathanLee Taylor. He is a smooth-talking, mild-manneredman, often fueled by thoughts of having a drink.With well-placed special effects, Taylor easilyleaves the audience wondering if he might be thesanest person on the stage.

The supporting cast includes a confident, terrificperformance by Tonya Beckman as Dodd’s on-stagesister Veta. Beckman has a matchless ability topresent a bewildering range of emotions such asexasperation, and vexation without speaking aword. Her work is a bright candy-land of vivid comicenergy with her expressive face and physicality.

Sue Schaffel and Emily Morrison provide superb

moments of animated slow-burning, daftness re-acting to the fraught situations their charactersfind themselves in. Elliot Bates, a boorish, high-brow doctor, who transforms into an engagingoddball who believes Harvey is quite real.

As tentative love interests, Carolyn Kashner andTim Torre perform agreeably. Robert Grimm hasan over-the-top, burlesque-like turn as a medicalorderly. Kelsey Meiklejohn and DeJeanette Horneare solid as foils to the on-stage clowning. Withonly a few moments on stage, William Aiken hitsthe mark delivering sobering, wise lines of dialogue.

The seamlessly detailed WWII setting includesa fanciful use of a turntable that comes from thefertile minds of scenic designer Kay Hughes, light-ing designer Brittany Shemuga, costume designerKara Waala and sound designer Edward Moser.

“Harvey” will bring fun and diversion to any-one ready to let their guard down and be tickled.

Screwball comedy withterrific performances.

Charming “Harvey” from 1st Stage

Where and When1st Stage presents “Harvey” performing at 1524 Spring

Hill Road, Tysons. Performances now thru Dec. 20, 2015.Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sun-days at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets: $30; with student,seniors and military discounts. Call 703-854-1856 or visitwww.1ststagetysons.org.

Photo by Teresa Castracane/Courtesy of 1st Stage

Johnathan Lee Taylor as Elwood P. Dowdand Sue Schaffel as Betty Chumley in“Harvey” at 1st Stage. Photo by TeresaCastracane.


By Joan Brady

The Connection

November is National AdoptionAwareness Month. With thatin mind, meet two familiesexpanded through adoption;

two families whose kids describe their fam-ily as “awesome.”

The Hagens of Vienna are a family of twoparents, Kelly and Scott; three boys, twoadopted and one biological; and two fam-ily dogs. Appreciative is the word that comesto mind listening to the Hagens talk abouttheir family.

Lewis, 17, describes family priorities.“Somehow we find time to do stuff together.Like eating dinner. I’ve heard some fami-lies don’t do that. That’s very sad to me.”

Spencer, 16, talks of how his brother,James, influences his life. “I know there area lot of experiences that I get to have be-cause James is so outgoing.”

James, 11, appreciates time spent withhis dad. “I like working outside with mydad. And, I like that he pays me for it.”

Lewis loves having brothers. “You havepeople who are always there. I play XBoxwith them. We talk. We listen to music. It’slike having friends that are always thereAND they are family.” Would be differentwith sisters? Spencer says,“Well, they wouldprobably make it all about them.”

For parents Kelly and Scott Hagen, ap-preciation extends outside of their imme-diate family. “We have a lot of special is-sues in our family and that has made usmore open minded about people,” saysKelly. “We make fewer assumptions and welisten more.”

Meet the Connelly FamilyThe Connellys have an immediate family

that includes two parents, five sons — two

biological, two adopted from Fairfax Countyfoster care, and one foster son — and twocats. They hope to add a therapy dog in thenext few months.

Jackson, 8, likes the commotion that alarge family brings. “I like having brothers.It’s interesting living with a lot of people.It’s very loud, which means I’m never boredand I learn a lot about how to be nice.”

Anthony, 17, has a deep appreciation forhis parents, “Not every family would takein so many kids and do so much for them.My parents make sure to keep things fairand show us a lot of love.”

Ben, 15, recognizes all that it means tobe a family, “If you are looking for a family,you will find everything and more from thefamily right here. We are everything youwould expect; the good and the bad. Weare a real family.”

Hunter, also 15, might complain about thenoise, and apparently does, all of the time,but he wouldn’t change a thing, “When weare at home and I’m trying to get work doneand everyone’s doing their thing around myarea, it drives me crazy. But I wouldn’t trade

Thankful for Adoption

Creating Families with Adoption

Hagen Family: Scott, Spencer, James, Lewis and Kelly of Vienna

Adoptive parentsdescribed: ‘Grateful.Generous. Awesome.’

Scott and Megan Connelly.

Pho

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s by Jo

an

Brady

them in for peace and quiet.”Scott and Megan Connelly have been fos-

ter parents to many kids over the years.According to Scott, the “spectacular” suc-cess of the foster children they have hadover the years, many now grown, as wellas the success of their biological andadopted boys is simple. “We make sure theyknow that we love them, unconditionally,and that we are going to hold them account-able. It takes a few weeks, but then theysettle right in.”

Megan adds: “One of the things that helpsmakes our household work is that the kidsare flexible and giving. Each time we haveadded someone new into the mix, they fol-low the example set and pretty quickly, it’slike they were always there.”

Nicholas, the Connelly’s 10-year-old fos-ter son describes his foster parents this way:“They are grateful. They are generous. Theyare awesome.”

Megan Connelly is one of 12 kids, 10 ofwhom were adopted. Megan says thatwith their current four, they are only justgetting started.

Connelly Family: Hunter, Jackson, Ben and Anthony(Foster son, Nicholas, not pictured).

Pho

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by Jo

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Brady

Consider adopting a child from foster care. In Virginia, there are more than 860 children waiting andhoping to be adopted. Many of those children are listed on the Adopt US Kids website which you can findat: adoptuskids.org/states/va/index.aspx

Photos and bios provided by Fairfax CountyDepartment of Family Services

Adame, an energetic 6-year-old boy has a big smileand big heart to match. Keep-ing Adame engaged will helphim remain on task and mini-mize anxiety for him. Atwo-parent household, withone parent primarily in thehome available to attend to Adame’s needswould be ideal, Adame is resilient and wouldthrive in an adoptive family of his own.

Tim, an active 16-year-old,loves to keep busy. His favoritething to do is go fishing. Hewould like a family who is ac-tive and loving. He gets alongwell with young children andhas a good sense of humor. Hehopes to one day attend a tradeschool to become a plumber because he feelsthis would be a great way to become finan-cially stable.

Damon, a kind and thought-ful 14-year-old young manenjoys eating out, watchingmovies and going to the park.He has discovered rock-collect-ing and can identify manydifferent kinds of rocks. Damonlikes school; he is energetic andloves sports, especially basketball,rollerblading and riding his bike.

Summer, a 15-year-oldyoung lady enjoys hiking andbiking outdoors, and loves mu-sic and reading. She isself-taught on piano and guitarand can play songs by ear. Shewould like a family that has alove for music and enjoys beingactive in the community.

By Joan Brady

Parental rights terminated.Available for adoption. Floun-dering in an imperfect system.

These words describe many childrenwho are currently living in foster carein Virginia. In Fairfax County, thesefour children are hoping that this willbe the last Thanksgiving spent in fos-ter homes.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe wants thosechildren who are currently availablefor adoption, adopted into lovinghomes, and he isn’t messing around.

“Let’s make it a goal – all of us inthis room – that one year from todayall 860 of these children will beadopted,” McAuliffe recently chargeda room full of adoption and foster careprofessionals at the Connecting HeartsSummit.

Focusing on Virginia is a good start.More than 26,000 young peopleacross the United States age out offoster care each year to futures morelikely to include homelessness andhunger than jobs and careers that willpay the bills. All of those young peoplewere once children like the 108,000currently languishing in foster care.Children who hoped, in vain, thatsomeone would come forward and

All 860

See Adoption, Page 17


choose them for adoption.In 2014, McAuliffe elevated the

priority of foster care adoption byappointing Debbie Johnson asVirginia’s Adoption Champion. Anadoptee herself, one of herachievements to-date has been tocreate Connection Hearts.www.connectingheartsva.org.With Ericca Facetti at the helm,Connecting Hearts works with theVirginia Department of Social Ser-vices, local departments of socialservices as well as local businessesto engage and educate the publicabout children in foster care whoare waiting for adoptive families.

One of Ericca’s immediate goalsis to get as many of those childrenas appropriate included in theAdoptuskids/Virginia listings. Cur-rently, of the 860, just 180 arelisted. www.adoptuskids.org/states/va/index.aspx

According to the MetropolitanCouncil of Governments (COG),there are 259 children in the DCmetro area waiting for adoptivehomes. Child Welfare ProgramManager, Kamilah Bunn, workstirelessly to bring visibility to fos-ter care adoption in our region.COG’s adoption efforts includeWednesday’s Child, The PicMeProject, Regional Adoption Eventsand the Regional Adoption Ex-change.

Many children have no problemadvocating for themselves. Per-haps one of the more memorableself-advocates was a 10-year oldtwin, who grabbed his brother,hopped on a stage in downtownDC, grabbed a mic and belted outto the cheering crowd, “WE NEEDA FAMILY.” Other children are notso forthcoming; They are embar-rassed by circumstances that areno fault of their own. They havebeen disappointed by adults whohave said they loved them, butwho then turned away. They fearfurther rejection.

Social workers and other profes-sionals like Kamilah Bunn andEricca Facetti all work together toprotect each child, as they worktirelessly to match children suc-cessfully with a small pool of po-tential adoptive families.

From

Thankful

Adoption

Adoption ExpoWhat: 2015 Adoption Expo will

educate, inspire and celebratefamilies formed through adoption.Prospective adoptive parents canmeet adoption professionals as wellas current adoptive and fosterparents to learn about foster careadoption and foster parenting.

Cost: FreeWhen: Dec. 5, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.Where: 801 K Street NW,

Washington, DC 20001More: adoptionfosterexpo.org

Sports

By Jon Roetman

The Connection

For senior outside hitter Jess Donaldson,Friday’s 6A statechampionship match

at VCU’s Siegel Center includeda change in roles — and out-come — from her experience inthe 2013 state final.

For sophomore setter ElenaShklyar and other Saxons whowill continue their high schoolcareers next season, Friday’sstate final was a learning expe-rience.

For the Langley volleyballteam, Friday’s match againstConference 6 rival Madison wasa tough way to end to an other-wise successful season.

After dropping two of the firstthree sets, Madison battledback to defeat Langley 3-2 (20-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-17, 15-8)in the VHSL 6A state final onNov. 20 in Richmond.

Madison captured theprogram’s first state champion-ship by winning the first all-Fairfax County big-school vol-leyball state final in VHSL his-tory. It was the fifth meeting ofthe season between theWarhawks and the Saxons, in-cluding the third with a cham-pionship on the line. Madisondefeated Langley in the Confer-ence 6 tournament final, andthe Saxons knocked off theWarhawks in the 6A North re-gion championship match. Theteams had split their first fourmeetings.

“I think that both teams startedoff the match a little on the edgedue to all the nerves in the gymfor this big game,” Shklyar wrotein an email. “Once we got pastthose nerves, we got into a grooveand that’s when we were at ourbest. In the final two sets, we sim-ply started making some unforcederrors that we usually don’t makeand that was the difference in thegame. If we kept our disciplinefrom the first sets throughout theentire match, there could havebeen a different ending for us.”

TWO YEARS AGO, Langley wonthe state championship with asweep of First Colonial.Donaldson, an all-state performer

as a sophomore on the Saxons’2013 title team, finished with13 kills and 15 digs on Friday,but fell short of her bid for asecond state championship.

“It honestly just felt differ-ent,” Donaldson wrote in anemail. “My sophomore year,there were seniors and juniorsto lean on when we struggledwith something. This year, thatjob was up to me and otherteammates like Kristian[Stanford] and Katie [Sissler]that had been to Siegel Centerin past years. It’s hard to playin a gym like that when youaren’t used to it.”

Donaldson will play atLehigh University next season.

“I’m not sure I can expresshow much Jess has meant tothis program,” Langley headcoach Susan Shifflett wrote in

an email. “She is the perfect mixof competitor and genuineness.She works hard every day, pushesher teammates in such a positivemanner, communicates withcoaches and is just fun! She is justso easy to love.”

Shklyar finished with 16 kills, 18assists, seven blocks, four digs andtwo aces.

“Elena had a great match,played way above her sophomorelevel,” Shifflett wrote. She is “somature in the game. The next twoyears with her should be very com-petitive.”

Senior outside hitter Stanfordhad 10 kills and 16 digs for theSaxons. Junior libero SarahMaebius had 31 digs, and junior

setter Lauren Pratte had 19 as-sists and eight digs.

FOR MADISON, senior setterKendal Hall totaled five aces and47 assists. Seniors NataleZanellato and Jaynie Carter fin-ished with 19 and 18 kills, re-spectively. Junior Emily Calhounhad 11 kills for Madison.

Langley finished the seasonwith a 25-6 record and the 6ANorth region title. Madisonended the year with a 23-6record and took home Confer-ence 6 and 6A state champion-ships.

“I was very proud [of] theplayers on the team this year,”Donaldson wrote. “We playedhard and it was an accomplish-ment to make it to the SiegelCenter. At the beginning of theyear, Coach Shifflett told theteam that anything less thanstates would be a disappoint-ment. I think it was disappoint-ing that we didn’t win becausewe have beaten them beforeand we can, but Friday night, itjust wasn’t there.”

Shklyar said the loss can be alearning experience.

“I think that the experienceof losing in that fifth set in suchan important match reallyshowed our team just howmuch harder we need to workfor next year,” she wrote. “Be-ing so close but not quite get-ting what we came to accom-plish definitely stung, but I haveno doubt it will motivate us towork even harder next year.”

Sophomore Shklyar totals 16 kills,18 assists in defeat.

Langley Volleyball Falls to Madison inFive-Set State Final

Langley sophomore Elena Shklyar (12) totaled 16 kills,18 assists and seven blocks against Madison in the 6Astate final on Nov. 20 at VCU’s Siegel Center in Rich-mond.

Photos by Craig Sterbutzel/The Connection

Langley senior Jess Donaldson had 13 kills and 15 digsagainst Madison during the 6A state championshipmatch on Nov. 20 at VCU’s Siegel Center.

Langley senior KristianStanford had 10 kills and 16digs against Madison in the 6Astate final.


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ABC LICENSECaboose Brewing Company, LLC trading as Caboose Brew-ing Company, 520 Mill St. NE Vienna, VA 22180. The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) FOR A Mixed Beverages on premises license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Matthew Greer, memberNOTE: Objections to the issu-ance of this license must be

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By KENNETH B. LOURIE

All Four ItIn fact, it was my idea (and I do think

much of it), as it has been previously, butthis time, my oncologist felt – to quote mylate father: “The idea had merit.” And so,infusing forward, I will be visiting (I use thatword loosely), the Infusion Center everyfour weeks instead of three. A changenearly seven years in the making. Nowwhether it hastens my demise or simplyimproves the quality of my life, I certainlydon’t know. All I know is what little I know.Nevertheless, given my amazing good for-tune to still be alive so many years after myoriginal prognosis “prognosed” otherwise:“13 months to two years,” (as stated by myoncologist on 2/27/09), I suppose I’m livingproof that cancer works in mysterious waysand not always according to medical expec-tations. Thank God!

Perhaps the future – and maybe even thepresent, is what I make of it. And though it’sdifficult – but not impossible – to do so,among the rather grim tales that one hearsin the lung cancer/cancer-in-general world,there are success stories, many of which I’veactually heard. And the more of these sto-ries I hear, the more I feel empowered andrealize that even though we have not wonthe war on cancer, we are winning battles,not just skirmishes. Lung cancer patients areliving longer, as I have been fortunate to do;now we’re going to try and improve thequality of that “living longer.”

Not that you readers can’t sort it foryourselves, but extending my infusionschedule by one week from three to four isnot merely a 33 percent increase in thatinterval, it’s an exponential increase in myhead; meaning it feels way more significantthan one week. It almost seems as if I canbreathe normally again (not that I have anycancer-related difficulty breathing otherthan climbing stairs, lifting heavy objects orotherwise over-exerting myself); the sensa-tion now, the expectation now, is that I havecontrol of my life for an extra week EVERYSINGLE MONTH that I’ve not had foralmost seven years. I don’t want to go com-mercial here, but can you spell relief? Forme, it’s not a product, it’s a lifestyle.

However, as relieved as I am, this deci-sion/possibly even accommodation from myoncologist, is not because I’m cured, inremission or cancer-free. No. It’s because Iasked and my most recent PET Scananswered by indicating that I was “stable,”according to my oncologist. News, I like tojoke, with which I can live. But news whichhardly extricates me from “Cancerville.”Rather, news that allows/enables my oncolo-gist to consider some options that manycancer patients are unable to consider. Forthe record, though: this is unlikely to bepermanent and guarantees are not beingmade. Still, to invoke Hubert H. Humphrey:“I’m pleased as punch.”

As a long-time salesman, I’ve heardmany technique advisories. One I will men-tion here: “Don’t be afraid to take ‘yes’ foran answer.” Well, I’ve learned my lessons. Iam going to take “yes” for an answer. I’mnot looking for trouble. If my oncologist ishappy to oblige/agree with the four-weekinterval, then who am I to question it?Question it is the last thing I’m going to do.I’m going to embrace and enjoy it. Besides,I deserve it. I only wish there hundreds/thousands of other “terminal” cancerpatients receiving similar results and subse-quent improvement in the quality of theirlives. And though it may be temporary (untilthe results of my next CT Scan in January,that is), for the time I’m still being: “Oh,what a relief it shall be!”

Faith Notes are for announcements and eventsin the faith community. Send [email protected]. Deadline isFriday.

Tuesday/Nov. 24Emmanuel Lutheran Church will hold its 17th

Annual Community Thanksgiving Worship Serviceon Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. Clergy will leadthe service with prayers for peace and thanksgiv-ing. Local choirs from participating congregationswill join together under one roof to provide anevening of inspirational music. An offering will becollected to support CHO and The Lamb Center.Bring the family, or come with friends. The churchis located at 2589 Chain Bridge Road, Vienna.

Celebrate Advent and Christmas at TrinityUnited Methodist Church, 1205 Dolley MadisonBlvd., McLean. Weekly worship is Sundays at 8:30and 10:30 a.m.; Wednesdays at noon. Holidayevents include:

Sunday, Dec. 13, Children’s Musical, 10:30 a.m.service.

Sunday, Dec. 20, Lessons and Carols, 10:30 a.m.service.

Thursday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, 5 p.m. fam-ily service; 8 p.m., Candlelight and Communion; 11a.m., Candlelight and Communion.www.imtrinity.org.

The Churches of the Ecumenical Councilare offering a Blue Christmas worship opportunitySunday, Dec. 13 at 2:30 p.m. at Katie’s CoffeeHouse, 760 Walker Rd., Great Falls. This is an op-portunity to come together expressing the griefs,losses and challenges of our lives as we connect tohope and faith. Call Carol 703-582-1640 with ques-tions.

Chancel Choir, children and youth of theGreat Falls United Methodist Church invite you tojoin them for worship as they offer “Welcome toOur World,” a musical for Christmas written byClaire Cloninger and Robert Sterling on Sunday,Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. The musical includes traditionalcarols, newer praise songs and original material.

Robert R. “Mitch” Mitchell, Director of MusicMinistries at Great Falls UMC, former U.S. ArmyBandsman, and local area Piano teacher/freelanceMusician will be conducting the choir and narra-tors. Church keyboardist Thomas Pandolfi will beaccompanying the musical. Great Falls UnitedMethodist Church is located at 10100 GeorgetownPike, right next to the Fire Station in the center ofthe village. All are welcome.

Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 2589 ChainBridge Road, Vienna, is holding Sunday eveningworship service in a less formal atmosphere andmore intimate setting to help you get ready for theweek ahead. Sundays, 6 p.m. Communion offered.No childcare. 703-938-2119 orwww.elcvienna.org.

St. Francis Episcopal Church , 9220Georgetown Pike in Great Falls, offers musical,educational, outreach and fellowship ministries inaddition to worship services, including a 7:45 a.m.worship service without music; 9 a.m. worship ser-vice, children’s chapel and children’s choirs; 10a.m. Sunday school and adult forum; and 11 a.m.worship service with adult choir. 703-759-2082.

The Antioch Christian Church offers a timeof Prayer and Healing on Wednesday evenings at6:30 p.m. for anyone wanting encouragement andhealing through prayers. People are available topray with you or for you. Antioch Christian Churchis located at 1860 Beulah Road in Vienna.www.antiochdoc.org

The Jewish Social Services Agency (JSSA)offers a wide variety of support groups for thosewith emotional, social, and physical challenges.www.jssa.org/growth-learning.

HAVEN of Northern Virginia offers a vari-ety of free bereavement support groups, meetingon a weekly basis. 703-941-7000 orwww.havenofnova.org.

McLean Bible Church Fitness Class at Body& Soul Fitness. Gain balance, energy and strengthat 9:45 a.m. Mondays and Fridays. Free childcarefor registered [email protected].

Faith Notes


www.GreatFallsGreatHomes.com

Jan & Dan LaythamDianne Van Volkenburg

Office: 703-757-3222Susan Canis

Associate Realtor 9841 Georgetown Pike • Great Falls VA 22066Sally MarvinAssociate Realtor

Great Falls $800,000

Great Falls $2,499,000 Great Falls $1,795,000

Great Falls $1,125,000

Great Falls $1,879,000 Great Falls $1,499,500

IMMEDIA

TE

DELIVERY


Reston $453,500


Great Falls $829,000


5 ACRES

Reston $1,165,000




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